


Plucking Petals

by YouAndIForForever



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Heartbreak, Kissing, Love, Romance, also daveed diggs is a beautiful man, hand holding, i love lafayette so much, pinning, sword fight!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 09:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12814473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouAndIForForever/pseuds/YouAndIForForever
Summary: Prompt: “Go on then, tell me. Tell me you don’t love me.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yo I posted this on my tumblr over the summer but never on here so why not?

You and Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette had been friends since you were in frilly, cloth diapers. You had grown up in the same commune in Chavaniac, France, due to both your fathers being apart of noble military lineage.

You spent almost every single day together: running around the buildings, riding horses, laying around the fountain in the middle of the estate, getting into more trouble than either of your families cared to admit.

You were thick as thieves and the best of friends. His father was a higher rank than yours so it was expected that you referred to Lafayette by his last name, but he allowed you to call him by his first name, Gilbert. You were the only one Lafayette felt comfortable talking to out of all the kids in the whole estate, most of them acting like the self-entitled brats they were with rich and powerful fathers.

It was strange for either of you to be apart from one another for an extended period of time, so when Lafayette started schooling with his tutor, you were quite lonely. You spend long hours walking in the estates shared gardens by yourself or learning from your mother how to sew; just waiting for the hour to strike six o’clock and Lafayette’s studies to be done with for the day.

“What’s wrong Y/N?” Lafayette asked after his very first month of schooling finished.

You were both sitting in the rose garden, your favorite spot, hidden away from your nannies. They had probably given up searching for you and gone inside to cool down on this warm spring day, hoping you would come out of hiding soon.

You had been sighing and picking the petals off roses all afternoon. You dropped the petal less rose you were holding before and looked down at him.

“I’m bored, Gilbert,” You sighed again

“Do you want to play A Game of Graces? Jou-Jou? Marelles?” He asked and sat up. He had been laying down at your feet, fallen petals collecting on his face.

“No…not so bored as much as…restless.” You corrected and wiped the built up pollen on your hands onto your dress.

“Why?” Lafayette stood up and sat down next to you on the stone bench.

You snapped another flower from its bush and trace its soft bloom.

“I want to go to school like you do.” You explained with another sigh.

Lafayette let out a snort and snickered, “But you’re a girl, you’re not allowed.”

You face flushed and your entire body stiffened. “I know that!” You said

“I don’t even think my tutor would allow you into the library!” He teased, seeing it get a rise out of you.

“That’s not funny!” You yelled at him.

“He’d probably tell you to go play with your dolls and leave reading to the men.” He laughed, holding his stomach.

“Just because I’m a girl doesn’t make me a fool!” You snapped at him and shoved him hard. He tumbled off the bench and you were glad to see the smile leave his face.  
Lafayette scrambled to sit up, quickly realizing his offense to you.

“I may be a girl but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn everything you do. I’m tired of sitting around, waiting for you to finish your studies every day the day, I want to be learning with you.”

You abruptly stood up and threw the rose at his face, hoping its thorns would prick his skin. You huffed, gathered up your dress in a rather undignified manner, and marched away from him.

“Y/N!” He called but you ignored him as you ducked underneath bushes.

As soon as you escaped the jungle of plants, your nanny spotted you and rushed over, relieved you had finally reappeared. She scolded you on your messy appearance and ushered you back towards the house for supper. You glanced over your shoulder to the garden, spotting Lafayette watching you from under a rose bush. You turned your nose up at him and continued towards the house.

-

You didn’t talk to Lafayette for two whole days after he had mocked you for your desire to learn. Not speaking for two days in Y/N and Lafayette friendship time was like not speaking for 2 years. You avoided going near the building him family stayed in and the library he studied at. You sat and plucked flower petals at the edge of the rose garden, not sneaking into the hideout you and Lafayette shared. Your nanny fussed over how dirty you were getting from being outside, but you were too stubborn to get up and do anything else with your time.

It wasn’t until the third day that you and Lafayette finally spoke again. Your nanny was getting too unbearable to listen to so you finally snuck into your garden hiding spot. You lounged on the grass, watching bugs flutter by, and of course, ripping petal off roses.

Suddenly, a presence was looming over you. Before you had a chance to react an armful of heavy books dropped onto your lap.

“Ow!” You cried, thighs sore from the impact. You looked up, already knowing the only person it could be.

“What was that for!?” You demanded from Lafayette. You looked down at the books and your face redden with anger. “Come to gloat about your education. Make fun of me while you study?”

Lafayette dropped down next to you and pulled off his cap, sweat on his forehead. No doubt he was tired from caring the mountain of books from the library all the way to the gardens.

You shoved the books off your lap and began to smooth out your dress, acting aloof, but watching the books from the corner of your eye.

“You said you wanted to learn like I do right? Want to study with me? Well, I’m going to teach you everything I’ve learned so far.” Lafayette said and started pulling books out of the large pile.

“What do you want to learn first? Reading? Writing? Astronomy? Arithmetic?” Lafayette asked, summarizing the subject of the books he went through.

You turned towards him a little and raised your eyebrow. “You’re going to teach me?”

He looked at you and raised an eyebrow, “Of course.”

If this was a trick he was trying to play, it was very mean spirited.

“Really?” You said, squinting at him and crossing your arms.

“Yes. You said you wanted an education, no teacher will tutor you, so I will.” He said a mixed expression of shyness and determination on his face.

Oh.

You face softened a little.

“Really?” You asked again, a smile slowly spread across your lips.

“Yes!” He said with a laugh, secretly worried you thought the whole idea was preposterous or you were still mad at him.

You flung your arms around him and held onto him with an iron grip, laughing. Lafayette laughed and hugged you back. You sat like that for a moment, heart racing in excitement at the prospect being taught like any boy would be. Not only that but learning from Lafayette, your best friend.

“Thank you, Gilbert.” You said once you each released each other.  
“I am sorry for what I said before.” He looked down, fiddling with the front cover of a book.

You leaned in a placed a kiss on his cheek to let him know he was forgiven. A wide grin spread on both your faces.

“We need to get started Y/N!” Lafayette buzzed, patting the book cover. “You’re already a month behind me, you need to work hard if you’re going to catch up!”

You giggled as the two of you tried to decide which subject to start with. 

Reading was first.

-

The years you and Lafayette shared at the estate were long and full of good memories. All the hours you spent learning from Lafayette in the rose garden, the games you played, the time you spent together.

A few months after Lafayette’s 13th birthday, he was commissioned an officer by the royal French military, and you knew things weren’t going to be the same anymore; you were both growing up.

Both of your fathers were in the military, all the men on the estate were military. You weren’t oblivious to the fact that one day all the boys in Chavaniac would grow up to become officers, it just seemed like the time had come so quickly.

Though Lafayette wasn’t called for active duty at the time of the war, the next few years were extremely hard for both of you to endure. Lafayette’s father was killed in action and his mother and grandmother as well as your own mother, all passed away due to an illness that overtook the estate in 1770. The illness had taken many people’s lives from the estate. Lafayette was left orphaned and you were left with only your father.

Lafayette inherited his parent’s fortune and residence so he was able to stay on the estate without fear of being sent away, not that any of the senior officers could bear to do that to the young man.

The next few years you spend together were blurred. Time didn’t have room to exist between the tears and pain you and Lafayette shared. You spent hours together in silence, hidden away from the world in a corner of an unoccupied library or against the rose garden. You shared a deep agony that only the other could understand or help to soothe.  
It really wasn’t until you both turned 15 that you felt like all the pain you and Lafayette had endured was calming down. But you were both grown adults now and so you couldn’t go back to how things us to be. No more free evenings spent together, reading books to each other or talking for hours. Lafayette was the head of his house and given complete control now that he was old enough and had to take care of everything his parents use to run. You, however, were subjected to all womanly duties your mother used to carry out: instructing the maids, tending to your father, sowing, entertaining the few guests that would come by, sitting around all day not doing anything else.

You didn’t mind being a step in for your mother, it was an easy enough job taking care of the house while your father worked or was away. If you were lucky, you and Lafayette were still able to spend some time together, getting together whenever you could.

All seemed to be going as well as it could until the end of 1776.

-

Lafayette told you the news when you were taking a stroll together around the estate. He had sent a Page to request your company for that evening and he met you right outside your family’s residence.

You smiled when you opened the door and he beamed back at you. Lafayette had grown to be so stately and dapper, a prominent leader of the estate.  
Somehow, your affections for him had grown ever more for him since you were children. He was very charming and attractive and it was very hard to not become completely enamored of him.

He turned and stuck his arm out for you. You wrapped your hand around it and set the rod of your opened parcel on your other shoulder. Lafayette began to lead you around the estate.

“You look very lovely today, Miss. Y/L/N.” He said.

You laughed, “As do you, Marquis de Lafayette.”

The affection and fondness you held for each other was palpable, grown more with age, though had never been spoken out loud.

You talked for a while and caught each other up on what was happening, which really wasn’t much.

“Y/N, I do have something to tell you,” Lafayette said as you stopped by the rose garden.

You were plucking petals from a red rose and stopped when you heard the thickness of his voice.

“Yes?” You said, frozen in place, not knowing what to expect.

“I’m-I’m leaving.” He said in a soft voice.

Fear ripped through your body. Your corset, which up until now felt was merely uncomfortable, felt like it was crushing your lungs.

“America?” You asked, already knowing the answer.

It felt like every time you spoke to Lafayette, he brought up the colonies and of the revolution there. He couldn’t seem to take his mind off of it and had told you he wanted to go there to fight, you just never thought he would really go through with it. But you knew he wouldn’t stay at the estate forever, something would eventually pull him away, either by choice or force. 

“Yes. My ship is leaving soon.” He explained

Your throat felt thick and your eyes started to water. You cleared your throat and asked, “How soon, Gilbert?”

“Morning.”

You sharply inhaled and spun around to face him.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Why were you keeping this from me?” Tears prickling in your eyes and hands shaking.

“I didn’t want you to be sad in the days we had left together” Lafayette explained

“Oh.” You said as tears came pouring down your face and the flower you were holding dropped to the ground.

“Oh.” You said again, voice cracked and you covered your face with your hands.

Lafayette rushed forward wrapped his arms around you and you sobbed into his jacket.

“Don’t-don’t…please. We need you here. I need – I need you here.” You begged into his chest.

Lafayette just held you, not saying a word.

You looked up at him with blurred vision and Lafayette released one of his arms to pull a handkerchief out of his pocket. He wiped your eyes and cheeks so they were tear free, though fresh ones replaced those only seconds later.

“Come now Y/N,” He whispered into your hair after returning his arm to its previous position on your back.

You simply indignantly whimpered and held Lafayette closer.

“It won’t be that long. I’ll write to you every chance I get. And I’ll think of you always.” Lafayette reassured you.

You nodded slightly and looked up at him again.

“Don’t forget me.” You begged between sobs

“Oh my darling, I could never.” He breathed and kissed you gently on the lips.

“Gilbert…I-I…” You quietly gasped, knowing what you wanted to say but not how to say it.

“Sssssh. I know.” He whispered, wiping away your tears with his hand before leaning in to kiss you again.

This man, who held your heart was leaving with it in his pocket.


	2. Chapter 2

You spent the next 2 year writing Lafayette letters upon letters every day. You didn’t even bother sending half of them, some too messy to read, some like the ramblings of a fool.  
The war was brutal, Lafayette wrote about the horrors he saw every day and the death that piled around him. The screams he heard coming from both sides and the seemingly endless firing of guns and cannons. He didn’t spare you a single gruesome detail and you were grateful, it made the distance seem less wide between the two of you.

There were a few things that gave Lafayette relief over there. His friends, Hamilton, Laurens, and Mulligan (though the last one wasn’t there anymore, something about him going back to New York.) He had also become quite close with his general, Washington, as well. He often compared him to his father and went on and on about the man and how much he respected and revered Washington.

Lafayette wasn’t able to tell you about any plans, strategies, or missions due to the ever-looming threat that somehow the British army may get their hands on the letters. You didn’t mind that much though since he couldn’t talk military, Lafayette talked about other things. Mostly you. He wrote you pages of poetry and asked millions of questions about your days back at the estate. 

He had hired a tutor for you before he left so you could continue to get your education. You weren’t sure how he was able to find someone to tutor a woman, but he did. He always wanted to know what you were studying, how you were doing, and if you needed help on any subject. You laughed at the thought of Lafayette hunched over a challenging arithmetic problem you had as the general gave a speech to the troops.

Lafayette liked to write about your future together a lot. He talked about traveling with you, where you would move to, what your house would look like, what your kids would look like, what your days would be like together once you were reunited again. Only your charming Lafayette would try and court someone from the other side of the ocean during one of the most important wars in history.

Each letter gave you strength to carry on till the next letter arrived and you relished in the love and sentiment he laced into every paragraph. You were truly in love and not even this war and distance was going to stop you from loving and waiting for Lafayette.

-

The news came in the beginning of 1778.

Suitors. Your father had found many, many suitors for you, each seeking your hand in marriage.

After Lafayette had left for America, your father was home for a short period of time from Paris. You told him about Lafayette and how you loved him, even in his absence and you cried and cried into your father’s shoulder. He smiled and held you.

Not long after that, he had asked you if Lafayette intended to court and marry you when he came back from America. Your father was more than willing to hold off on marrying you off if the Marquis was going to be coming back soon asking for your hand.

You searched every letter and your father asked his colleagues for a sign that the war would be ending soon, but no such sign ever came.

So two years after Lafayette had left, and your father had had enough. He intended you to choose a suitor by the end of the month of February with his approval or else he would just choose one for you.

After that, you sat in your room and cried for days. You were too heartbroken to write Lafayette, let alone let him know you were to be engaged in less than a month to someone else.

You lay in your bed one morning and you realized you were finally out of tears to shed. Tears from your mother’s death, tears from Lafayette leaving, tears from this whole arranged marriage. 

Your body had finally let out everything it had and there was nothing left inside you now. There was nothing left for you to cry about and there was nothing left for you to feel. You were empty but could finally acknowledge that you were going to be engaged soon.

You were hollow and numb and all you wanted was your only friend and beloved, who was an ocean away from you and had no clue what was happening.

-

At the end of the month, just as your father had promised: engaged. To a man your father had chosen, Mr. James Clarke. He had a large estate, wealthy family, was well read, and very polite. 

You almost wished he was mean and ugly and horrible to you so you would have a real reason to hate him rather than the fact that he wasn’t who you actually wanted. 

Who you truly needed.

You hadn’t been able to write Lafayette this entire time. Nor read any of the letters he sent.

For a little while, the normal letter every couple days came, but a few weeks later, dozens of letters were coming every single day, even on days when the post wasn’t supposed to be delivered.

You couldn’t bear to read them, too frightened by what Lafayette was saying in them. You wouldn’t be able to take it if he was mad or sad or, god forbid, happy for you. You still felt…nothing. Absolutely nothing. To get through this engagement…marriage…life…you are just going to have to deal with controlling and shutting down your emotions. You would need to restrain yourself and fake smile and play the part of the loving wife and eventually, no doubt, mother to Mr. Clarke’s children.

After your father told you he had given Mr. Clarke his blessing to marry you, you nodded and thanked your father. That was nearly 2 months ago.

At the moment, you found refuge in the garden, the one place you truly loved. The place you and Lafayette spent so much of your childhood, and now a place simply for you and the flowers.

You sat down on a new stone bench that was placed next to the pink roses. You ran your fingers over the silky soft petals and a ghost of a smile pulled at your lips. You would have to say goodbye to these as well once you moved to Mr. Clarke’s estate after the wedding. He had promised that he wanted to come back and visit often though, very interested in spending time with your father. Furthering his career no doubt. That’s what this whole marriage was about. That and children to carry on his legacy.

You lamented and plucked a large, full rose off the bush and started to pluck its petals off, one at a time, as you always have since you were a little girl.

“He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not.” You sighed after each petal was picked from the flower.

It was a silly little game your mom had taught you at a young age. She told you that if you pulled the last petal and got “He loves me” you would know for certain that the person you were thinking about was completely in love with you. After that, your mother handed you a large white rose and together you pulled off one petal at a time, all the while your eyes were locked on Lafayette who was across the garden, being scolded by his nanny for running away from her.

You smiled at the memory. You mother had always loved the garden and she would have liked how big and flush it had become in the past few tears. The bushes had grown tall and it seemed more like a maze than a garden.

A single tear escaped from your eye and landed on the rose. You recoiled just the slightest, honestly not believing you could shed another tear.

You pulled the petal off that held your tear, “He loves me not.” You whispered

A faint noise, steadily growing louder, came from somewhere outside the garden and caught your attention.

“Y/N!? Y/N!?” A frantic male voice called along with the sound of rustling leaves.

You sat as still as a statue.

It couldn’t be… 

It couldn’t be him.

Your skin rose, gooseflesh.

It just wasn’t possible.

Your pulse went wild.

He wasn’t supposed to be back. 

Your mouth was dry.

He can’t be here. 

You couldn’t breathe.

It couldn’t be-

And as you shot up from your spot on the bench, Lafayette came rounding the corner of the rose garden and you both froze.

He didn’t look horribly different. His hair was longer…or maybe it wasn’t. It was hard to tell with it being tied back. He had hair on his face that was nicely trimmed and he was probably a little taller, but it had been two years, it was hard to know what exactly had changed and what had stayed the same.

Lafayette’s eyes were still the same though; large, brown eyes that looked amber if the sun shone on them in the right way. You could stare into them for hours and still want to look for longer.

“Gilbert,” you breathed. You weren’t even sure he could hear you from how far away he was. You weren’t even sure you could hear yourself over the sound your own heartbeat in your ears.

He gradually made his way over to you though, stepping lightly, but stopped a few feet in front of you. 

“Y/N” Lafayette whispered “Engaged?” His voice broke.

Your heart sunk. For one brief, beautiful moment, you had forgotten all of that misery. It had just been you and him in the garden again after so many years. But there was no running from it, especially Lafayette somehow already knew.

“I’m sorry” you replied, not able to hold eye contact anymore, the hurt on his eyes too apparent.

“You haven’t written me in months. Were you even going to tell me? When did this happen? Who is he?” Lafayette couldn’t seem to get his voice above a hoarse whisper.

“I…I” The first question was too painful to think about, “The engagement was almost 2 months ago. His name is James Clarke.” You said in a small voice.

“I wrote you.” Lafayette’s bottom lip and jaw trembled.

“I know,” You murmured, looking at the ground “I couldn’t…I just couldn’t.”

You took a shaky breath and finally looked back up into his eyes. It was so hard to keep away.

“What are you doing here? Why are you back? The war’s not done.” You said

“Your father sent me a letter. Telling me about your engagement. And I couldn’t stay away.” His voice broke again.

“My father sent you a letter?” You asked

“Yes, telling me about your engagement,” Lafayette explained further.

“Then you already know there’s nothing you can do. I’m engaged. I’m to be married to Mr. Clarke come June.” You replied, an icy hand squeezing your heart.

“You don’t want to marry him,” Lafayette said, not even a hint of a question in his voice.

“It doesn’t matter what I want, it’s going to happen.” You said.

Lafayette took a step towards you and placed a hand on your cheek, you almost choked. You leaned into it, the first physical contact you’ve had with him in 2 years and it felt so wonderful.

“Marry me instead,” Lafayette stated and it made your stomach flutter.

“I can’t.” It was your turn for your voice to break.

“Marry me.” He said again, voice thick with emotion.

“You need to go before my father finds you here.” You said and gently pushed away the hand he had resting on your face.

“Your father already knows I’m here.” He said and grabbed at your hands

You shook your head, “Then go before we say anything else we might regret.”

“Tell me you don’t love me then.”

Your heart stopped.

“Go on then, tell me. Tell me you don’t love me.” He demanded, hurt and anger melding on his face.

You let out a breath of air you’ve been holding for far too long

“Tell me and I’ll leave.”

“I…” You started but tapered off.

“Just say it and I’ll leave.” He said, voice pleading for you to do the opposite.

“I…I-I-“

“Y/N.”

“I can’t!” You cried out and threw yourself into his arms, “I love you!”

Lafayette caught you and held you tightly.

“I don’t want to marry James Clarke or anyone else! I only want to marry you!” You sobbed into his chest. You both sunk down to the ground and you were practically sitting on Laf’s lap. He held you fast to his chest and pressed kisses to the top of your head. “I love you, Gilbert. I love you. I don’t want to marry Clarke.”

Lafayette gently hushed you and cupped your face, “I won’t let that happen, don’t worry, don’t worry.”

It took a long time but you were finally able to compose yourself. Lafayette was able to get both of you up on the bench and you sat side by side, your head on his shoulder, hands laced together. A compromising position for an engaged woman to be in with someone that wasn’t her future husband.

“You letters were the only thing that got me through the war.” Lafayette whispered, “Every one brought me a sense of calmness I’ve never felt before. I wasn’t scared of dying over there, only of not returning to you. Even if I hadn’t been able to return, I would have never stopped thinking of you.”

He brought one of your hands up and kissed it. Your heart was beating so fast. You wanted to kiss him. Right now.

But Lafayette pulled back and sat up straight. He extracted one of his hands from your grip and reached it into his blue and gold military jacket, looking for something.  
After a moment, he pulled out a small, shriveled rose. It looked like it had been white and clean once, but had browned with age. The petals looked even more delicate than on a normal flower.

You sat up straight and glanced at him in confusion.

“It was the rose you had the day I told you I was leaving. The day your tears fell for me and we kissed.” Lafayette explained

You blushed and remembered it, having pictured it in your mind every day since he left.

“I went back to that spot the next morning, just before the carriages came to collect me and I saw it sitting there.

“I took it with me to America and thought that maybe I would take a petal off every time I missed you, but I realized the petals would be gone in a matter of seconds.” Lafayette let out a small laugh, “Then I thought maybe I would pull one off every time I didn’t miss you, to remind myself of you, but there wasn’t a day that went by, not a moment, that you weren’t captivating my thoughts.

“Then I thought, I’d just bring it back to you, so you can play that little game with it.” Lafayette turned your hand over and placed the small flower into your hand.

“Go on, I want to know if ‘I love you, I love you not’.”

“How did you know that I played that game?” You giggled.

“My father said that only the most beautiful played games like that.” He said then gave a dashing side-smile, “And once I overheard your mother telling mine you always spoke of me before playing the game with her.”

“Every time I played that game, I only ever thought of you.” You whispered, heart feeling so full of love.

“What did you get last time?” He asked wrapping his hand around your waist.

“Loves me not.” You said.

“That is simply not true, my darling,” Lafayette spoke softly and kissed your cheek.

Your hands shook and your heart beat wildly like the flapping wings of a bird. You held the stem of the rose in one hand and brought up the other to pluck a flaking petal. It crumbled in your hand.

“He loves me.” You started.

You pulled another.

“He loves me not.”

Another came off.

“He loves me.”

Petal after petal went fluttering to the ground, both you and Lafayette watching the flower intensely as if it ending on ‘he loves me not’ could decide your fate.

You pulled another petal, “He loves me not.”

There were only two petals left, meaning you were going to end on the negative.

You pulled off the second to last petal, “He loves me.”

You hesitated, staring at the last petal. It was really only a silly child’s game, but you had wished it had ended the other way.

Swiftly, Lafayette reached up and plucked the last one off.

“She loves me.” He said with a wide grin, 

“I do love you.”

“I love you.” He finally said. He had written it plenty of times in his letters but it felt different hearing it coming directly from him.

You dropped the stem of the naked rose and placed your hands on Lafayette’s cheeks. You leaned in and kissed him. Kissed him so he knew how you had been feeling every day for the past 2 years. He kissed you and placed his hands on the small of your back.

You kissed and you were out of breath but you didn’t care. You’d rather faint than willingly take your lips off of his.

You were too busy making up for lost time with Lafayette that you didn’t hear rapidly approaching footsteps.

“That’s my betrothed, you bastard!” Came a shout.

You and Lafayette broke apart and you both whipped your heads over to see Clarke standing at the opening of the rose bushes.

Lafayette stood and took a step to the side so that you were out of Clark’s direct line of vision, “Not anymore.”

“Y/N, what are you doing with this man?” Your fiancé growled

“She does not answer to you anymore,” Lafayette said darkly and placed a threatening hand on the saber strapped to his belt.

“I don’t know who you are, but you will step away from my future wife, right now!” Clarke yelled.

You weren’t sure what to do. You were still promised to Mr. Clarke and you didn’t want to go against your father’s wishes, but Lafayette was your soulmate, your sweetheart since you were children, and you weren’t going to let him slip away again.

Clarke rushed forward, brandishing his walking cane as his weapon and Lafayette drew his sword. You had used sticks when you were children to play pretend sword fighting, he had been skilled back then, even before his training had begun.

Wood and metal smashed together and you gasped, frightened for your beloved. Clarke was trying to use his cane as more of a club, swinging at Lafayette, trying to clip his head or arms. Lafayette dodged every blow and his saber went slashing forward, an attempt to slice skin.

Clarke swung his cane again and smacked Lafayette’s hand holding the sword hard. Lafayette cried out and dropped his weapon. Clarke kicked him in the side unexpectedly and he went crashing to the ground.

Clarke lumbered over to you, his eyes filled with rage. He caught your wrist with an iron grip.

“Slut!” He screamed at you. You tried hard to jerk your hand out of his grip but he was too strong.

“Let go!” You cried and dug your heels into the soft earth, but to no avail. Clarke was practically dragging you out of the garden. You twisted around to where Lafayette had fallen but he was no longer there. You spun back around to find Lafayette with his sword pressed against Clarke’s back.

“Let her go and I won’t run you through, devil.” He growled.

Clarke stood there for a moment, looking as he was trying to formulate a plan. He finally dropped your wrist.

Clarke suddenly swung around, ready to attack again, but Lafayette struck him in the center of his face with a closed fist. He was on the ground, knocked out cold. Blood poured from his nose and down the sides of his face.

“Y/N,” Lafayette said and you looked up to meet his gaze.

You ran to him and were swept into his arms. You both stared down at your unconscious betrothed.

“What now?” You asked.

“I…I don’t know. Making my case to your father will be much more difficult once he knows about this.” Lafayette said.

“On the contrary,” Came a voice from behind you, “I like a man with some fight in him.”

You both turned to see your father bustling into the gardens with several armed guards following closely behind him.

“Guards, arrest this man.” You father instructed and fear gripped your heart.

You stood in front of Lafayette as a protective shield as he had done earlier for you. “Father, please! It’s not what it looks like! Clarke was trying to attack Lafayette!” You pleaded.  
“Please, sir, I was only trying to defend your daughter!” He added in from behind you.

You father laughed, “Dear, I have no means to arrest the Marquis. Only Clarke.”

“…What?” You asked and exchanged a glance with Lafayette, both of you thoroughly confused.

“Clarke lied about everything. He has no money and no family. He’s a British spy. He was trying to marry into our family so I would trust him with military secrets he could send back to his country.” You father explained, glancing over at the passed out man

“You knew this the whole time?” You asked, bristling.

“Heaven’s no! Someone on the border intercepted a letter from Clarke to his higher-ups and reported it back to me. It took me a while to get all the proper evidence I needed against him. I was just coming to accost him for his crimes, but I see now there was no need to bring so many guards. The Marquis has done a wonderful job of subduing him.”  
You father laughed and walked forward to clap Lafayette on the shoulder.

“How long have you know that I was engaged to a red coat?” You cried, still so confused on this strange turn of events.

“Darling, the second I realized I wanted to tell you, but the charade had to be kept up so he would let his guard down and give me time to prove he is a spy.” Your father explained, “That is, of course, why I send for Lafayette.”

“You know about this as well?” You turned to Lafayette.

“No, no! You father only wrote me about the engagement and I came running.” Lafayette said, eyebrows furrowed, face filled with as much disarray as you felt.

“That you did. Your dedication to my daughter is something that cannot go unnoticed.” Your father smiled up at Lafayette, kind and warm, “You’ve always been loyal to her and never strayed from her side until the war required you too. I’m sorry I didn’t give you my blessing before you left.”

“Gilbert, you tried to…before you left?” You said and turned to Lafayette, a warmth running through your body.

He nodded, flustered, “Of course I tried.”

“Well, you may have my blessing now. You are far worthier than any other man I’ve never met. It’s why I send you and your General the letters.” Your father said chortled and suddenly you couldn’t contain yourself anymore.

“Washington?” Lafayette asked, just beginning to ponder something

“Yes, yes. I fully explained the situation to your general, asking him to send you home so you could get married.”

At the last word you couldn’t contain yourself anymore and practically threw yourself into your father’s arms, kissing his cheeks.

“Thank you, father, thank you!” You cried.

Lafayette bowed deeply then shook your father’s hand, “Thank you, sir. A thousand times.”

Your father just nodded and chuckled, happy to see you happy and with who you were obviously meant to be with from the beginning.

In the middle of the joyous moment, a noise came from the ground. Clarke groaned in pain.

“Oh…yes…this one.” You father said with a raised eyebrow, “Well no time like the present.”

The guards that had been waiting stepped forward and pulled Clarke off the ground, carting him away.

Your father watched Clarke go, then turned back to you, with a smile “I’ll be off then, must attend to some paperwork before his trial.”

You grasped his hand before he completely turned to leave.

“Thank you for bringing him back to me, Father.”

“Anything for you, dear. It’s the least a father can do after accidentally trying to marry his daughter off to a Brit.”

He started to walk away before stopping and looking back at you over his shoulder with a playful smile.

“Funny, I don’t see any chaperones around…pity.” He shrugged and laughed, strolling back through the gardens and towards the estate.

There was a moment of complete stillness and silence. You tried to process all that had happened and all you had learned in this short amount of time. You turned back to Lafayette and you reached your hands out for his. He held your hands and you both stood in charged, but calm stillness.

“This was an unusual turn of events. Only a little while ago I was promised to a British spy and you were a dream long gone. But now he’s never coming back and you’re here and my father just gave us his blessing to marry.” You said, head cloudy.

“I really thought I was going to have to plead my case to your father or kidnap you for us to be together. Having your fiancé turn out to be the enemy was…by far simpler.” Lafayette mused

Silence washed over you again and Lafayette pressed your foreheads together. It was calming in this whirlwind of a day.

“You will, won’t you? Marry me?” He asked in a small, almost scared voice “I realized I haven’t even asked you yet.”

“Of course,” You responded, it felt painful that Lafayette thought you would want any different, “I’ve wanted to since we were children and you dropped those books on me and promised to start giving me lessons.”

“I wanted to marry you when you stormed off when I teased you about that. After you left, I realized I would do anything to win your affections so that’s why I taught you. And followed you around and did anything to please you. My father would sometimes scold me for being so wrapped around your finger at an early age but I knew there was no way out for me and I didn’t want there to be.” Lafayette said with a bashful grin.

You giggled and blushed, but you suddenly felt a twist of shame and guilt.

“I’m sorry I didn’t write to you for all those months and that I didn’t tell you about the engagement. It was hard for me to accept it myself and I couldn’t bear to tell you.” You said but he pulled you into a comforting embrace.

“And I’m sorry I left, it seems I threw you to the wolves in my absence.” He said and shook his head and his face grew sullen, “I do have to return you know. The General sent me back to France so I could bag for our Kings help in this war…but I guess that wasn’t his only reasoning.”

“I’ll just have to come with you when you go.” You said, looking up at him.

He tensed up against you, “You can’t! It’s not safe. Too much war and fighting over there.”

“Gilbert…I don’t care about that. I’ll live as far away from the battle ground as you like, but please, don’t leave me here again.” You begged.

Lafayette pressed his mouth right against your ear, muttering into it, “You’d do that? Really do that? Live America until the war ends? We would not even be able to live together. I’d still be at the camp and you would have to be states away to keep safe.”

“I don’t care Laf, I just want…need to be near you. Close the distance, if only by some small degree. We do still need to get married first though.”

“Married!” He cried and leaned down and kissed you firmly before he pulled back and started to laugh in pure joy. You joined him, not able to help yourself.

Lafayette picked you up and spun you around several times. You both ended up on the ground, side by side, your dress splayed out around you. The grass was soft and warm.

“Two years since I’ve seen you, you’ve somehow become even more beautiful.” Lafayette mused, toying with a strand of your hair that had fallen out of place at some point in the eventful day.

“You’ve become much more handsome.” You giggled bent forward to kiss him again.

“I can’t believe we’re to be married…it seems like just yesterday we were children hiding from the nannies and spending our days together here.”  
“We’ll find time like that again soon…once we’re married and back from the war.” You rolled so you were resting on one elbow and staring down at Lafayette, giddy with happiness.

“We’re going to be married!” You said just because you could and it wasn’t just a dream, but real life.

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Lafayette breathed and leaned up to kiss you again.

“And I as well.” You replied and kissed him back.

“Thank goodness that rose ended on ‘he loves me’ or we could have been in real trouble.” He teased with a nudge of his elbow.

You both giggled and lay on the grass and held hands and kissed and talked about your futures together and suddenly you were children again. Your future was a little uncertain, but you were ready to stand by Lafayette side and face it with him, and that was something you didn’t need to pull petals off a flower to know for certain.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is you-and-i-for-forever so come watch me reblog things  
> This is my first Hamilton fic so I hope you like it!  
> Don't forget to smash that kudos button and leave me a comment if you want to see more fics like this.


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